RENGO, which is pursuing a gender-equal society, held its 2002 RENGO Central Women Rally on October 25 and 26 in Tokyo. RENGO has been holding this rally every year in order to empower women through studying gender equality issues. Tokyo Big Site (Ariake, Koto-ward) was where the rally was held and approximately 1,000 people gathered from affiliated organizations and local RENGO including women leaders and officials in charge of women's activities. They actively exchanged opinions at the general meeting, workshops, and panel discussions under the main theme of "Let's build a society where we can choose various ways of work without fear."

 

Photo: 1003 (785 women, 218 men) people attended the general meeting from across Japan.

RENGO President Sasamori gave an opening speech on behalf of organizers. Based on the fact that the number of part-time workers and dispatched workers has been rapidly increasing, Sasamori said, "we expect to conduct not only a labor movement for members but one for every employed worker as an National Center for labor unions. We want to make this issue the RENGO's central theme."
As it is indispensable for the 'labor-centered welfare society,' which RENGO seeks, to create a society where both genders participate jointly, he told participants that "both men and women need to change their ways of thinking. We want everyone to take the first step toward the way of working and living in the 21st-century."

Following that, International Women's Year Liaison Group Caretaker Mihoko Ejiri gave a speech. She said "when we cooperate with each other respecting gender differences, we make it possible for 1 plus 1 not to equal 2, but 3." She went on to appeal for men to give women chances and women to eradicate emotional dependence.

After the proposal of issues by RENGO Assistant General Secretary Hayashi, Cabinet Office Gender Equality Bureau Chief Mariko Bando gave a lecture entitled "Present Conditions and Problems of Gender Equality." She stressed that "acquiring a skill is a fundamental matter for women." Bando proposed building informal networks that serve as forums for the exchanging of information and opinions and provide examples of how to acquire professional skills. She stated her willingness by saying "the challenge will be whether or not women will be the presence that effectively sustains society. We want to study the problem while sharing our thoughts, and hope to proceed with making policy recommendations as we continue to receive feedback from all of you."

In the afternoon participants divided into eight workshops to exchange opinions on different themes.

The theme of the first workshop was 'Equal Treatment on Part-time and Dispatched Workers,' which is one of RENGO's major issues for its Fall 2002 Activities. 10 participants from the general public read about the rally in the newspaper joined the discussion. Attendees attentively listened to such opinions as "in order for businesses to survive in the future, it is crucial that people hired by them make a significant contribution. Businesses should guarantee the same rights to all employees working at the same place whether or not they are full-time regular staff or part-time workers."
Various examples and opinions were presented from the floor including that one union did not support or backup an activity for part-time workers seeking to take paid days off. Another opinion called for activities to discipline employers who do not offer employees employment insurance even though they work twenty hours a week.

On the second day, RENGO Vice President Uemoto conducted a discussion. Panelists included: Tokyo Metropolitan University Professor Mutsuko Asakura, Naoyuki Kubo from UI ZENSEN DOMEI (Japanese Federation of Textile, Chemical, Food, Commercial, Service and General Workers' Unions), Yoshio Nakayama (DENKI RENGO; Japanese Electrical Electronic and Information Union) and Tomoko Yoshino (JAM; Japanese Association of Metal, Machinery and Manufacturing Workers' Union). In the discussion, opinions were exchanged by the panelists as well as opinions from floor under two themes: (1) The current state of gender equality at workplaces-especially correcting wage differentials between men and women. (2) Building a society where one can choose working styles without fear-equal treatment for part-time workers, support of balancing family/business, and a tax system/social security system which are benign to working styles.
Nine people from overseas unions and ICFTU-APRO participated at the rally. They spoke of the actual conditions in their countries at the international symposium entitled "Real Status and Problems of Asian Female Workers," which was one of the workshops held on the first day.